The Last Legend of Elemental Island
by The Black Robed Princess
Summary: Far far out over the West Sea, floats Elemental Island. These are the last recorded tales that have been found. They contain the story of Magma and Tiber, fire and water, love and war.


The stone room below the arena echoed with the sound of the confused voices of hundreds of elementals above. A young page nervously entered and gazed at the small pool at one end of the room. He slowly approached, then bowed.  
"My lord?"  
The surface of the water rippled and it gazed up at the quivering page."How long?"  
"Half an hour, my lord."  
A head formed from the water and said, "Thank you. You may go." The page bowed once more and left, fins still in the air, as if they picked up the tension from the arena above. After a moment pause Tiber Flo began to put himself together. He did so carefully, for in the ordeal ahead, even the smallest detail could change the outcome. When not one drop remained, he then decked himself in the King's colors.  
When he had finished he remained in the hollow and meditated on what was to come. There was no one more loyal to the King, but even so, the battle to come was foolishness. As for his opponent, he knew very little of her. Reputedly she was an excellent warrior who came from an old noble family. Tiber had only seen her a handful of times, always at the side of the Queen.  
He had a terrible feeling he was forgetting something important.  
A horn sounded above. He stood, and walked out of the room. By now the crowd was silent and he heard only the noise was the sound of his slightly scaled feet on the stone. The next room was divided in half by a translucent wall of black glass. His side was empty save for a blue stone tile. He stepped on it and began to rise toward the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the silhouette of his adversary do the same.  
The Crowd remained silent as Tiber and his female counterpart rose through the floor of the stadium. They both faced the dais upon which King Amanogawa V and Queen Olympia sat on stone thrones. The two monarchs gave each other irritated glances. An air elemental rose above the arena and shouted, "Tiber Flo!"  
Tiber stepped forward and bowed to the monarchs, who nodded back. The feeling that he was forgetting something was still bothering him when the air elemental shouted, "Magma Volcanus!"  
Tiber felt as if winter had come early. He could barely keep from dissolving as he faced his adversary. Magma, seeing the realization on his face, smiled sadly. They both knew that they would both die in this duel. Fire and water would consume each other. That, or start another eternal war. A mummer went through the crowd.  
They bowed. The announcing air element began to shout once more. "Ready!"  
The crowd was once again silent.  
"Begin!" bellowed the winged being.  
The two combatants placed their hands in their chests and griped their hearts. Tiber pulled his barbed white spear, formed from the spine and ribs of a great sea monster and a drop of his heart, and moved to a ready position. Magma pulled out her deadly black rapier, forged from sacred flint and a cinder of her heart, and did the same. There was a beat, and then the duel began.  
It was a battle that would pass into legend. The two warriors fought in a dance that reminded the viewers of the day the Creator had made the world and her elements. Such refined and controlled movements and such calculated tactics had not been seen since the time the heroes and the Great War. Flint crashed against bone, sparks and droplets flew, and steam billowed from their struggle, but neither could gain the upper hand.  
After what could have been an age or a moment, there was a pause, and the two opponents circled as the steam dissipated. Within their chests their hearts pounded, both equally exhausted. Suddenly both the Tiber and Magma halted, and returned their weapons to their chests. There was an instant of total stillness. Then both warriors began to transform.  
Now instead of two roughly human shaped beings the stadium contained a gigantic dragon and sea serpent who charged at each other with a roar that shook the land. The crowd murmured, aghast.  
"A battle of forms! They're exhausted! They're losing control!" But there was nothing that they could do. There were many glances toward the royal dais, but although the King and Queen began to look nervous, they said nothing.  
The beasts clawed, bit, and rammed each other, and their wounds began to ooze blood-like substances which dyed the sands of the arena blue and orange. Still, neither beast could gain an advantage. As time passed the monsters began to slow, battered and exhausted, chests heaving. Once again Tiber and Magma paused for a moment, and began to transform.  
"Halt!" Cried King Amanogawa V, Suddenly standing. The two monsters shrank until both Magma and Tiber again appeared vaguely human, but translucent and flickering, pushed to their limit. The King turned to the Queen Olympia, and taking her hand in his he said softly, "I concede my dear."  
Transformed with relief, the Queen stood, kissed her spouse, and whispered, "Thank you."  
The two rulers nodded to their champions, standing in the ring, and exited the stadium. Magma and Tiber bowed shakily to each other, then, standing on the blue and red tiles, sank below the arena. Once down, both collapsed and were led away by pages to recover.  
As Tiber took in water, all he could think of was the Queen's champion, Magma. "Such grace of movement..." he thought.  
Magma, consuming oaken logs, was thinking around the same lines. "It has been some time since I have had such a challenge… "  
One Earthen spectator, as he was leaving the stands, glanced toward the royal dais, and thought to himself, "Well, that's one way to settle an argument." 

**Prologue: Fire and Rain**


End file.
